Joe South

He was a seemingly plain man with a plain name and a plain clothes style, the antithesis of a rock star. But Joe South’s unassuming presence was belied by a remarkable body of work in the 1960s and early ’70s. In a few short years, the Georgia native, who died Sept. 5 at 72, wrote eight hits, including 1969’s “Games People Play”; recorded a handful of critically acclaimed albums; and as a session guitarist in the Muscle Shoals scene played on records including Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools.” South abruptly halted his career in 1971 after his brother committed suicide, and his invisibility in the ensuing years left him largely forgotten. His music, however, lives on.